Stories about Digital Activism from September, 2009
Global Voices Bloggers Mentor New Danish and African Bloggers
Emails have begun to fly this week between 31 Global Voices mentors and 31 participants in a newly launched educational program in Copenhagen, Denmark called Global Change.
Egypt: US “Activist” Travis Randall Deported
American journalist Travis Randall has been denied entry to Egypt and then deported. Bloggers react to his treatment in this round up of posts by Marwa Rakha.
Bahamas: International Literacy Day
Bahamian bloggers Womanish Words and tings mash dedicate their posts to the marking of UNESCO’s International Literacy Day.
Bermuda: Gambling Shooting
As a Bermudian man fights for his life after being shot at a gambling event, Catch a fire, who is “particularly concerned about the prevalance of organised gambling”, also acknowledges the bigger issue: “We currently live in an increasingly atomistic society, a collection of households rather than a neighbourhood, workers...
Jamaica: Drugs & Politics
Jamaica Salt and Letter from Jamaica blog about a move by the United States to extradite local Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke on alleged drug and ammunition trafficking charges.
China: Crowdsourcing subtitle translations
Activist Tan Zuoren, little-known outside China, is the inspiration for a new documentary from artist Ai Weiwei and his Sugar Jar posse. Featuring civil rights lawyers Liu Xiaoyuan and Pu Zhiqiang, Chinese netizens have since begun transcribing and translating subtitles for the film.
Iran: ‘Green Movement and Iran's government’
Pejman Elipur‘s cartoon talks about the Iranian opposition (green) movement and the government's attempt to stop it.
Africa: Preventing blackmail and extortion against gays
Blackmail and extortion of gay people visiting or living in Africa has proven to be a lucrative business for scammers. Bloggers in Ghana and Kenya have taken matters into their own hands by shining a spotlight on the fakers.
Cuba: Political Conscience
Uncommon Sense focuses the spotlight on one of many political prisoners who cannot attend the Juanes concert, saying: “Hopefully, Juanes will…come to understand that without justice for him and other Cubans imprisoned because of their commitment to their consciences, there will be no peace in Cuba.”
Iran: A political prisoner's daughter was arrested
Alefba, an Iranian blogger, reports [fa] that Atefeh Imam, a political prisoner's 19 years old daughter was arrested to increase pressure on her father, Javad Imam.The blogger asked other Iranian bloggers to support this girl.[ she was released after 24 hours]
Azerbaijan: Reaction to Hajizade-Milli trial
Sixty days after video bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli were arrested, and following the start of their trial last week, friends and supporters of the detained youth activists reflect on the case online.
Russia: Blogger vs Journalist
Foreign Policy's Net.Effect writes about the coverage of the accident at Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric dam in the Russian mainstream and new media, and the use of blogging by the “authoritarian regimes.”
Russia: Teens Online
Profy writes about a study on the use of internet tools by Russia's teens.
A Guide to Blogging about Life with HIV/AIDS
In recognition of the hundreds of HIV-positive bloggers chronicling their lives worldwide, a group of online activists affiliated with Rising Voices have created a new guide to blogging about HIV/AIDS.
Azerbaijan: Detained video bloggers go on trial
Despite significant international outcry from leading human rights and freedom of expression advocates, detained video blogger youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli today went on trial in Azerbaijan. Supporters live tweeted proceedings.
Iran: “My interrogator had read all my posts”
Somayeh Tohidloo,an Iranian female blogger and reformist, says [fa] she was interrogated for 70 days in a jail in Tehran and her interrogator had printed and read all posts in her two years old blog.
USA: Deportations Feared as New School Year Begins
A proposed bill that would resolve the legal status of approximately 65,000 undocumented students in the United States is still in limbo as another school year begins this month.
Syria: Blogger Calls for a Campaign Against Masturbation
Fadl, a Syrian blogger, takes advantage of the Muslim holy month Ramadan to call for a campaign against masturbation[ar].
Cuba: Filtering Connections
Yoani Sanchez ruminates on the many changes September brings, including this surprise: “Since last Friday it is impossible to [connect] to Voces Cubanas from the Island. They have applied to it the same slow filter they use to block the connection to desdecuba.com for users in Cuba with very slow...
Cuba, U.S.A.: Sanctions & Human Rights
Along the Malecon and Repeating Islands both refer to an Amnesty International report which calls for the lifting of US sanctions against Cuba.
Puerto Rico: Saving the Parrots
Repeating Islands blogs about the Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program, which is “an effort to conserve, protect, and manage the wild and captive populations of this endemic parrot in order to downlist the species from endangered to threatened.”
